The Pacesetter Frontier Magazine

Category: Sports

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  • Man City Stun Arsenal To Take Control Of EPL Title Race

    Man City Stun Arsenal To Take Control Of EPL Title Race

    Manchester City took control of the Premier League title race as Kevin De Bruyne scored twice in a dominant 4-1 win over leaders Arsenal to close in on retaining their crown as English champions on Wednesday.

    Arsenal hold a two-point lead at the top of the table but City have two games in hand, meaning Pep Guardiola’s men can afford to lose one of their remaining seven matches and still claim a fifth title in six seasons.

    The Gunners’ challenge to win the league for the first time in 19 years had already come off the rails prior to their trip to the Etihad as Mikel Arteta’s men have now failed to win in their last four games.

    But for the first time this season they were truly outclassed as City flexed their muscles.

    The arrival of Erling Haaland has brought a new dimension to a side that was already the dominant force of the English game.

    Haaland set a new record of 33 Premier League goals in a 38-game season deep into stoppage time to take his tally in all competitions for the campaign to 49.

    But the Norwegian showed there is more to his game than goals with a sublime touch that set De Bruyne away to curl the opening goal beyond Aaron Ramsdale after just seven minutes.

    Arsenal never recovered from that nightmare start and were fortunate not to be blown away before half-time.

    Ben White’s last-ditch block denied De Bruyne an almost carbon copy of his first goal after being set free in behind by Haaland.

    Ramsdale then single-handedly kept Arsenal in the game and Haaland at bay with a hat-trick of saves from the towering 22-year-old.

    But there was no reprieve when John Stones headed in De Bruyne’s free-kick in first-half stoppage time and a VAR review adjudged the England defender was onside.

    Ramsdale continued to win his battle with Haaland after the break when the City striker galloped clean through from Ederson’s long ball.

    But Arsenal lost the war as Haaland teed up De Bruyne once more to find the bottom corner via a nutmeg on Rob Holding on 54 minutes.

    Holding has been the scapegoat for Arsenal’s defensive woes in recent weeks as he has struggled to replace the injured William Saliba.

    Arteta’s men have now conceded 10 times in their last four games and face a huge challenge to raise themselves in the final weeks of the campaign to keep any sort of pressure on City.

    Arsenal did at least get on the scoresheet four minutes from time through the unlikely figure of Holding when the centre-back smashed home.

    But even if there is an Arsenal response, City look imperious as they close in on not only a third consecutive Premier League title, but a treble.

    A meeting with Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals appears the biggest hurdle next month with a FA Cup final against local rivals Manchester United to follow on June 3.

    Haaland provided the final flourish with virtually the last kick of the game when he finally got the better of Ramsdale to move past Mohamed Salah’s previous record of 32 Premier League goals in the 2017/18 season.

    AFP

  • 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup: Nigeria Paired With Brazil, Italy

    2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup: Nigeria Paired With Brazil, Italy

    Nigeria has been paired with Brazil in Group D of the 2023 U-20 World Cup, following the draw for the competition held on Friday in Zurich, Switzerland.

    Known as the Young Selecao, Brazil have won the competition five times.

    The Flying Eagles, one of the four African representatives for the competition billed to hold in Argentina later in the year, also have Italy and the Dominican Republic as opponents.

    Coach Ladan Bosso’s side qualified for the tournament after clinching bronze at the U-20 AFCON held earlier in the year.

    Another African representative and continental champions Senegal were pitted in Group C alongside Japan, Israel, and Colombia.

    In Group E, South Americans Uruguay are up against Iraq, England, and Tunisia while Group F has France, Korea Republic, The Gambia, and Honduras.

    Host nation Argentina, Uzbekistan, Guatemala, and New Zealand are all in Group A.

    USA, Ecuador, Fiji, and Slovakia will do battle in Group B in South America.

    This year’s competition will run from May 10 to June 11 and Nigeria will be aiming to become only the second African country after Ghana to land the trophy.

    Twice, the Flying Eagles have reached the final in 1989 and 2005. In the latter, the West Africans lost to 2-1 to a Lionel Messi-inspired Argentine side.

  • Super Falcons Stun New Zealand 3-0 In Turkey

    Super Falcons Stun New Zealand 3-0 In Turkey

    On a day that world-governing body FIFA marked exactly 100 days to the biggest FIFA Women’s World Cup finals in history, Nigeria’s Super Falcons spanked World Cup co-hosts 3-0 in a friendly in Antalya, Turkey that also marked a third consecutive win for the nine-time African champions.

    Captain Onome Ebi, who is heading to her sixth FIFA World Cup finals in Australia and New Zealand, headed the Super Falcons in front after 34 minutes at the Mardan Sports Complex, turning the game around after the Ferns had put some pressure on the Nigeria defence in the first quarter-hour.

    Spain-based forward Rasheedat Ajibade missed narrowly with a left-footed shot in the 21st minute, but there was no stopping the inspired Ebi 13 minutes later as she nodded in a cross by Toni Payne.

    Jennifer Echegini, strong on the left side of the Nigeria defence, made it two for the Super Falcons in the 48th minute after some excellent wing play by Michelle Alozie.

    Hannah Wilkinson came close to reducing the tally in the 62nd minute but goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie intervened quickly to keep the scoreline at 2-0.

    The Super Falcons continued to launch onslaughts into the Ferns’ half of the field after Gift Monday replaced Asisat Oshoala and Ngozi Okobi-Okeoghene came in for Toni Payne, and Glory Ogbonna replaced Michelle Alozie.

    Power forward Desire Oparanozie, returning to the fold after 18 months, had the last laugh with a typical goal in added time, holding up the ball and slicing past the goalkeeper even with a defender stuck on her.

    The Falcons have now scored six goals in their last three matches, conceding only one.

    At the FIFA World Cup finals (from 20 July to 20 August), Nigeria will play in Group B against co-hosts Australia, Republic of Ireland and Canada.

    (Leadership)

  • Victor Osimhen To Miss Champions League Quarter-Final First Leg

    Victor Osimhen To Miss Champions League Quarter-Final First Leg

    Napoli’s Victor Osimhen has been ruled out of this week’s Champions League quarter-final first leg with AC Milan after failing to recover in time from a thigh injury picked up on international duty.

    Napoli’s star player and Serie A top scorer had been in a race against time to play in Wednesday’s fixture at the San Siro.

    The Nigeria striker did not take part in team training on Tuesday, doing individual work in the morning session, and he was left out of the squad announced on Tuesday before Luciano Spalletti’s outfit travel to Milan.

    Taking Osimhen’s place could be Italy international Giacomo Raspadori who did participate with the rest of the squad in Tuesday’s training.

    He is Napoli’s only fit striker as Italy’s champions elect also announced on Tuesday that Giovanni Simeone had suffered a hamstring injury.

    Simeone had come on for Raspadori as a second-half substitute in Napoli’s 2-1 win at Lecce on Friday before having to leave the field injured in the final 10 minutes.

    (AFP)

  • Super Eagles Make Descent In FIFA Ranking As Argentina Bounces

    Super Eagles Make Descent In FIFA Ranking As Argentina Bounces

    Nigeria’s Super Eagles came tumbling down the ladder in the new FIFA ranking released Thursday, falling down five steps from the previous 35th position to occupy 40th spot in the world.

    The team also fell out of the top five in Africa, occupying the sixth position due the home defeat inflicted on them by less fancy Guinea Bissau in Abuja last month.

    In the last three rankings released, Nigeria had been on steady decline. They dropped from 32 to 35 in October and now 40.

    Meanwhile, six years after topping the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, Argentina are once again at the summit of world football. Recent friendly wins against Panama (2-0) and Curaçao (7-0) helped the world champions dethrone Brazil (3rd, minus 2), who paid a high price for defeat in their friendly against Morocco (2-1).

    Not only did A Seleçao surrender top spot, but they also saw France (2nd, plus 1) move ahead of them. Les Bleus’ ascent to second is down to back-to-back wins in UEFA EURO 2024 qualifying against the Netherlands (4-0) and Republic of Ireland (1-0).

    Outside the leading trio, there were no other movers among the Top 10. Belgium (4th, -) remain just outside the podium places, closely followed by England (5th, -). In fact, the swapping of places by Senegal (18th, plus 1) and Denmark (19th, minus 1) were the only other notable changes in the Top 20.

    Further down the Ranking, however, there has been no shortage of movement, with the strides made by Serbia (25th, plus 4), Algeria (34th, plus 6), Egypt (35th, plus 4), and Scotland (36th , plus 6) among the most significant. No less impressive is the progress of Romania (46th, plus 6) and Canada (47th, plus 6), who moved into the Top 50 at the expense of Mali (53rd, minus 8) and Saudi Arabia (54th, minus 5).

    However, the most improved side in this edition are the Central African Republic (122nd, plus 10). By twice beating Madagascar, at the time ranked 30 places above them, Les Fauves du Bas-Oubangui rose 10 places in the global standings, outperforming other notable movers such as Namibia (106th, plus 7), Malaysia (138th, plus 7) and The Gambia (120th, plus 6).

    (Leadership)

  • Lampard makes comeback as Chelsea’s caretaker coach

    Chelsea Football club has announced Frank Lampard as their caretaker manager until the end of the season.

    Lampard, who played for Chelsea for over a decade and already has a stint as a manager with the London club is momentarily replacing Graham Potter who was recently sacked after a run of disappointing results.

    Chelsea have struggled this season, currently sitting in eleventh place in the Premier League and facing a difficult task in the quarterfinals of the Champions League against Real Madrid.

    The announcement of Lampard as Chelsea manager again albeit in a caretaker role is surprising for many but the club owners believe it is a well-thought-out decision.

    Co-controlling owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali said:

    ‘We are delighted to welcome Frank back to Stamford Bridge. Frank is a Premier League Hall of Famer and a legend at this club. As we continue our thorough and exhaustive process for a permanent head coach, we want to provide the club and our fans with a clear and stable plan for the remainder of the season.

    “We want to give ourselves every chance of success and Frank has all of the characteristics and qualities we need to drive us to the finish line.

    ”We have an important game against Wolves on Saturday and then we will turn our attention to our Champions League quarter-final in Madrid next week. We are all going to give Frank our full backing as we aim to get the best possible outcome from all our remaining games.”

    Lampard’s first task as caretaker coach will be to prepare the team for their crucial quarterfinal match against Real Madrid.

    With the club’s hopes of silverware resting on this competition, Lampard will need to rally his troops and inspire them to a strong performance.

    In his first stint in charge, Lampard managed the club for 84 games, including guiding them to an FA Cup final.

    (Premium Times)

  • Chelsea signs Enzo Fernandez from Benfica for €121m

    Chelsea have signed Enzo Fernandez from Benfica after meeting the midfielder’s €121 million ($131m/£106m) release clause, the Portuguese side announced on Tuesday.

    A statement from Benfica confirmed that a deal had been reached between the clubs over how Chelsea would pay the release fee for the 22-year-old, who has signed an eight-and-a-half year contract.

    The deal breaks the previous Premier League record fee of £100m that Manchester City paid for Jack Grealish when he joined from Aston Villa in 2021.

    Chelsea were still to confirm the deal, but according to reports in England the paperwork had been submitted on time and before the transfer deadline at 2300 GMT on Tuesday.

    The 22-year-old impressed for Argentina as they won the 2022 World Cup and was named the Young Player of the Tournament.

    ESPN reported on Monday that Fernandez had already agreed personal terms with Chelsea and were pushing the Portuguese club hard to reach an agreement with the Blues.

    He becomes Chelsea’s seventh signing of a busy January transfer window, following the arrivals of Benoit Badiashile, David Datro Fofana, Andrey Santos, Mykhailo Mudryk, Noni Madueke and Malo Gusto.

    Benfica boss Roger Schmidt was not keen on seeing Fernandez leave, but had previously said their hands would be tied if a club paid the player’s release clause.

    Fernandez moved from Argentine side River Plate to Benfica in 2022 and has played 29 times in all competitions, scoring four goals and grabbing seven assists.

    The deal takes Chelsea’s total outlay on players since last year’s takeover by an investment group led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital to more than £500m.

    Chelsea are 10th in the Premier League, 10 points adrift of a top-four spot. They next host local rivals Fulham on Friday.

    (Arise News)

  • UK Jury clears Benjamin Mendy of six counts of rape 

    UK Jury clears Benjamin Mendy of six counts of rape 

    A jury in the UK on Friday cleared Manchester City and France footballer Benjamin Mendy of six counts of rape and one of sexual assault against four women, following a six-month trial.

    The seven men and four women on the panel failed to reach verdicts on a seventh charge of rape and one of attempted rape.

    Prosecutors said afterwards they would seek a retrial on those counts.

    “We have made a decision today, which is to proceed on these counts in two separate trials,” prosecutor Matthew Conway told Chester Crown Court.

    Mendy, 28, who denied all nine counts involving six women, covered his face with both hands, gently rocking back and forth, as the verdicts were delivered.

    Judge Steven Everett immediately set a new trial start date of June 26 for the two counts which the jury could not agree on.

    “It is not unusual that jurors don’t reach verdicts on some counts. You have to be true to your duty,” Everett said as he thanked them and excused them from any future jury service for seven years.

    The jury, which began hearing the case last August, had been deliberating since early December, with an extended break over the Christmas and new year holiday period.

    Mendy was accused alongside Louis Saha Matturie, 41, an alleged “fixer”, who was found not guilty by the jury of three counts of rape relating to two teenagers.

    Jurors also failed to reach verdicts on three counts of rape and three counts of sexual assault against him by five other women.

    The prosecution had alleged that Mendy was a sexual “predator” who raped or sexually assaulted young women procured by Matturie, at parties at his luxury home.

    Mendy has denied ever forcing any woman into sex and both said any sexual activity they had with women was consensual.

    A statement from Mendy’s club Manchester City said: “Given there are open matters related to this case, the club is not in a position to comment further at this time.”

    (Channels TV)

  • Victor Osimhen receives Globe Soccer Award Trophy

    Victor Osimhen receives Globe Soccer Award Trophy

    Super Eagles and Napoli star striker, Victor Osimhen, has received the trophy for the best young player prize at the 2022 Globe Soccer Award.

    The former Lille of France forward beat Gavi and Valverde to scoop the prize in a ceremony held at the Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai in November 2022.

    In a post on his Twitter handle on Wednesday, Osimhen said he just received the trophy which he won two months ago and displayed it in a photo accompanying his post.

    “Just Receive The @Globe_Soccer Award For The Power Horse Emerging Player Of The Year,Thank You For The Recognition,And To Those That Have Been Supporting Me Through The Years,I Appreciate Y’all.GOD Is The Greates,” the Nigerian international wrote.

    Following the winter break, Osimhen continued with his top form in the Italian Serie A, scoring one of the goals in Napoli’s 2-0 victory over Sampdoria on Sunday.

    The goal made him the first player in the league to score 10 goals so far in the season and ensured Napoli remained top of the Serie A table with 44 points ahead of Juventus and AC Milan who both have 37 points each.

     

     

  • Morocco qualify for World Cup quarter final after defeating Spain

    Morocco qualify for World Cup quarter final after defeating Spain

    The Atlas Lions of Morocco have qualified for the quarter-final of the World Cup for the first time in their history.

    The North Africans put up a resolute display holding Spain to a barren draw inside 120 minutes before subduing the 2010 champions 3-0 in the ensuing penalty kick at the Education Stadium.

    Tuesday’s outing was another incredible performance from the Walid Regregui-led men who have been turning heads with their scintillating displays at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

    Morocco went the whole mile for 120 minutes, making sure the Spaniards did not breach their defence.

    The penalty shootout then saw the Lions showing class with goalkeeper Bono recording a hat trick of saves before Madrid-born Archaf Hakimi punished Spain with the winning penalty kick.

    Morocco will now face either Portugal or Switzerland in the quarterfinal.

    First half

    Despite being held by the Spaniards in the first 10 minutes, the Atlas Lions were the first to produce a goal-threatening chance with Hakim Ziyech blasting wide in the sixth minute.

    The Lions soon got another chance after Boufal was pulled by Gavi and Archaf Hakimi’s freekick went wide in the 12th minute.

    Spain, however, put some pressure on Morocco’s defence with Gavi’s shot hitting the woodwork. The rebound was parried to safety before the assistant referee ruled the attempts offside in the 26th minute.

    A minute later, Marco Asensio’s one-on-one attempt was played sideways.

    In the 33nd minute, Morocco recorded their first shot on target from Mazraoui who dispossessed Torres and sent an outside shot towards Unai Simon who had to save it twice.

    About 10 minutes later, Morocco’s chance for an opener was blown after Nayet Aguerd missed Boufal’s cross.

    Second half

    Ten minutes into the second half, Spain got their first shot on target in the game after Asensio’s free kick was saved by Moroccan goalkeeper, Bounuo.

    Meanwhile, with the game going into the last 20 minutes, Morocco kept La Roja off bay to continue their unbeaten streak.

    Eight minutes later, Danny Olmo’s effort from Jordi Alba’s cross went wide. Olmo then failed to convert another cross from Nico Williams in the 80th minute.

    Six minutes later, the Lions showed some offensive glimpse with substitute Walid Cheddira spinning Ziyech’s pass but was saved by Simon. Another exchange of play between Hakim Ziyech and Azzedine Ounahi went off target in the 88th minute.

    Morocco’s Bounou, hanging on for the extra-time, denied Pedri what would have been the last show for La Roja with a pullout to the Barcelona midfielder’s free-kick.

    Morocco then extended the game to extra-time.

    But while the Desert Foxes were beaten, the story was different for the Atlas Lions who held on for what turned to be a one-sided penalty shootout

    AbdelHamid Sabiri scored the first spotkick for Morocco while Sarabia hit the post just like he did some minutes earlier.

    Hakim Ziyech scored for the Lions and Bono saved Carlos Soler’s spotkick. However, Simon saved Badr Benoun’s spot kick and Sergio Busquet played into the hands of Bono.

    Without wasting time, Spanish born Hakimi displaced Simon to send Morocco to their first ever quarter-final . Meanwhile, Spain recorded their first heavy defeat in a penalty shootout as they failed to score any of the three spotkicks.

    Morocco now carry Africa’s lone flag into the last eight and will now have their eyes on becoming the first team from continent to make it to the semi-final.

    (Premium Times)

  • Nigeria, Morocco, South Africa show interest as CAF re-opens bid for AFCON 2025

    The Confederation of Africa Football(CAF) has announced the re-opening of bids for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) after initial host Guinea was stripped of the hosting right to the competition.

    Last week, CAF president, Patrice Motsepe, was in the capital city of Guinea Conakry to announce that the biennial tournament will not be held in Guinea due to the inability to afford the modern infrastructures and facilities needed to host the tournament.

    “The 2025 Nations Cup allocated to Guinea will not take place there because we’re not yet ready in Guinea,” said Mr Motsepe in a news conference on Friday.

    However, CAF has now announced the re-opening of bids for the 2025 AFCON in a statement issued by the body yesterday.

    “The Confédération Africaine de Football (“CAF”) Executive Committee (“EXCO”) met on Saturday 1 October 2022 in Algiers, Algeria and announced the re-opening of bids for the Total Energies Africa Cup of Nations 2025,” the statement read.

    “CAF also wishes Africa representatives well ahead of the upcoming Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup coming up in November.

    “CAF wishes Senegal, Tunisia, Ghana, Morocco and Cameroon all of the best in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™,” the statement added.

    According to multiple reports, Morocco and South Africa have expressed interest to bid to host the tournament while the past Nigeria Football Federation administration led by Amaju Pinnick had in June expressed Nigeria’s interest to co-host the tournament with West Africa neighbour Benin Republic.

    Ibraham Gasau replaced Pinnick after he won the September 30, 2022 election conducted at the NFF Annual General Assembly and Elective Congress that was held in Benin, Edo state.

    Only time will tell if Mr Gasau would follow up the interest of his predecessor and officially bid for the hosting rights to the tournament.

    (Peoples Gazette)

  • FG fulfills house promise to late Stephen Keshi 28 years after 

    FG fulfills house promise to late Stephen Keshi 28 years after 

    The Federal Government, Thursday, has handed over the Certificate of Occupancy and other land documents to late Stephen Keshi and 14 other members of the 1994 Super Eagles Team.

    The Sport’s Legend was gifted a three-bedroom flat in Delta State.

    According to a statement signed by the Director, Press and Public Relations, Blessing Lere-Adams, the handing-over ceremony was done at the headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, on Thursday in Abuja.

    It will be recalled that President Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) early this year promised to gift houses to twenty-two members of the 1994 Super Eagles Team from the housing units under the National Housing Programme in any state of their choice.

    At the handover ceremony, Director, Public Building and Housing, Solomon Labafilo, who handed over the C of O on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria, assured that the remaining nine members will receive their homes soon. addition to the entitled C of O as well.

    He said that they will receive them in any of the National Housing Estates of their choice across the country such as in Imo, Abia, Ondo and Bayelsa states

    Labafilo added that late Stephen Keshi’s family opted to have his allocated to him in Delta State, his home state where he was also laid to rest.

    Speaking on behalf of the family, Ifeanyi Mudabai, expressed gratitude to President Muhammadu Buhari for redeeming the promise after 28 years.

    Ifeanyi, who is late Stephen Kechi’s uncle, applauded the Minister of works and housing, Babatunde Fashola, for the thoughtful initiation of fulfilling the promise through the National Housing Programme.

    (Punch)